In 1968, TM Founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi spoke to hundreds of Meditators who came from all over Canada to Alberta’s Chateau Lake Louise to enjoy a one-week course with him. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. learned of this rare opportunity and created a TV special about Maharishi’s visit and his message of finding bliss and peace within through the Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) technique. This excerpt from that historic video was shot on the shores and mountains around beautiful Lake Louise.

Maharishi: The depth of the lake and the ripples, and the beautiful reflection of the glacier, reminds me of the story of inner life.

The mind is deep like a lake. The ripples on the surface represent the conscious mind, the activity of the mind on the surface. And the whole depth of the lake is silent. And that is the subconscious mind, which is not used by the waves.

But if the waves could deepen and incorporate more silent levels of the water, the waves could become the waves of the ocean, the mighty waves.

This is what happens in Transcendental Meditation. The surface activity of the conscious mind deepens and incorporates within its fold the depth of the subconscious. And with practice, nothing remains subconscious. The whole subconscious becomes conscious, and a man starts using full potential of the mind.

“This is what happens in Transcendental Meditation… The whole subconscious becomes conscious, and a man starts using full potential of the mind.” —Maharishi

The Mind’s Essential Nature

And the reflection of the glacier on the water is like the impression of the objects that the mind perceives. And as long as the mind is not capable of maintaining its essential nature, which is bliss consciousness, so long the mind gets imprinted by the perceptions of the objects, and this is called the bondage of the mind.

The mind loses bliss consciousness and gains the joy of the reflections of the world, the joy of the relative order, losing the bliss of the Absolute—eternal Being.

When the mind is not capable of maintaining its essential nature, bliss consciousness, and is overshadowed by the reflections of the objects of perception, then only the object remains, and the subject as if becomes annihilated. This annihilation of the subjective nature within is a great loss. It’s a loss of eternal bliss at the cost of temporary joys. Such a life, where the value of the matter dominates, is called material life, and the spirit gets annihilated.

“When the mind is not capable of maintaining its essential nature, bliss consciousness… then only the object remains, and the subject as if becomes annihilated.” —Maharishi

The Story of Liberation

But, when, through the practice of Transcendental Meditation, the mind goes deep within to the source of thought, transcends the thought, and gains bliss consciousness, and is capable of maintaining that even when it comes out into the worldly experience of objective nature, then it is called spiritual life—that the spirit is not capable of being overshadowed anymore by the objective experience. And this is spiritual life.

This is life in eternal liberation, and without this, life is in bondage—a great loss! As if loss of a billion pounds, and gain of a million. Loss of eternal bliss consciousness and gain of a worldly, fleeting joy.

“When… the mind goes deep within to the source of thought, transcends the thought, and gains bliss consciousness, and is capable of maintaining that even when it comes out into the worldly experience of objective nature, then it is called spiritual life.” —Maharishi

A Vision of the Lake Brings about a Great Teaching

The vision of the lake brings about a great teaching of spiritual life. Life is bliss. It’s pure existence, just like the flower is the sap.

The different layers of manifestation of pure existence, pure Being, absolute consciousness, pure intelligence—this is what life is. And as it expresses itself, it expresses in layers of existence, layers of energy, layers of intelligence, layers of bliss, happiness. This is life.

See all this beautiful nature? People in their sad and miserable moods, in their stressed and strained life, even if they come out to this beautiful nature, they can’t enjoy. What is needed is the bliss out of Transcendental Meditation—the joy, the happy mood.

If all the population of the people could practice Transcendental Meditation, they’d enjoy all this nature to the maximum.

We are going to create a society free from suffering, and stress, and strain. And then really, the gift of God on earth, such pretty nature, will be enjoyed by everyone.

“The vision of the lake brings about a great teaching of spiritual life. Life is bliss. It’s pure existence, just like the flower is the sap.” —Maharishi